"We're disappointed but we're not discouraged with the performance. We had our chances to win," Scott said after the Richmond match.

"I thought we had the better of the game for big parts of the game, so I don't think anyone from our footy club should be walking away thinking that we need to change things drastically to beat them.

"They're the best side in it at the moment, but they need a lot to go right from them to win it, no question."

The loss to Hawthorn leaves Geelong one game outside the top eight with just two home-and-away rounds to play.

The Cats host both Fremantle and Gold Coast at GMHBA Stadium to finish the season and should win both to keep their finals hopes alive but will also need results to go their way to make the eight.

Triple premiership hero Jimmy Bartel says if Geelong does miss the finals this year the club's season has been a rank failure.

The Cats are now at serious risk of missing the finals. Picture: Michael Klein

When asked to describe the feeling if Geelong misses the finals as "a) Disappointing, b) some progress made with some players but nonetheless unsatisfying or c) a complete and utter rank failure", Bartel said.

"Probably the last one.

"You can't have that top end of talent, an experienced coaching panel and people would agree it's a massive home-ground advantage, if you play that many games down there at home and you play the game well, that should be a certain amount of games in the bank (as wins) at the start of the year.

"You just can't have that much talent on your list and that much experience and miss the finals.

"You have a look at the sides below them, you can come up with some pretty good reasons why they'll miss the finals but it's pretty hard to find those for Geelong."

Scott on Saturday took a swipe at Billy Brownless after being told about the former club great's criticism of the "lazy" Geelong midfield during the match.

With the Cats under siege early in the game, Brownless contended the engine room - bar Patrick Dangerfield - didn't work hard enough to stop Hawthorn.

"No, I'll reserve my judgement on that one," Scott said.

"I think it's really easy to have a look at selected pieces of vision and make an assessment.

"Billy Brownless was it? Talking about the midfield? Yep, gotcha."

Dangerfield also brushed off the sledge.

"I'm not sure of the end numbers, but I'm not sure how much time Bill spent throughout the midfield either."